Joe Proski (born April 19, 1939) is a

Polish American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

retired athletic trainer who spent the majority of his career as the head trainer for the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA) Phoenix Suns. After spending one season with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

, Proski left for the Phoenix Suns in 1968. Proski served as the head athletic trainer in four

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, ...

s ( 1971,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

) and was named Head Athletic Trainer of the Year in 1988. Following the

1999–2000 NBA season The 1999–2000 NBA season was the 54th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA championship, beating the Indiana Pacers 4 games to 2 in the 2000 NBA Finals. This would also be Cha ...

, Proski retired from the NBA. His immediate successor for the position would be Aaron Nelson, who was the Suns assistant athletic trainer from 1993 to 2000. On April 1, 2001, Proski was inducted into the

Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor The Ring of Honor is an award given to prominent players and employees of the professional basketball team, the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Awardees are selected to recognize the significant role the individual has had ...

. In 2017, Proski was inducted into the Arizona Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame. Proski's father, John Proski, was a trainer for the NFL Green Bay Packers. Following the construction of

Lambeau Field Lambeau Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing ...

(then known as City Stadium) in 1957, John Proski became the manager of the venue. Joe Proski went to Montana State University on a football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

and during the summers worked for a

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

minor league affiliate in his hometown of Green Bay as a clubhouse manager. The team's manager,

Pete Reiser Harold Patrick Reiser (March 17, 1919 – October 25, 1981), nicknamed "Pistol Pete", was an American professional baseball outfielder and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), during the 1940s and early 1950s. While known primarily f ...

, urged Proski to pursue a career in training. Proski enrolled at the Gus Mauch Florida School for Athletic Trainers in

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

and was certified in 1959. He eventually joined the Detroit Tigers physical therapy staff during spring training. His position with the Tigers led him to his first full-time training job with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs employed Proski for eight years before he left for the NBA. Proski worked as a trainer for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

minor league affiliate in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

during the NBA off-season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proski, Joe Phoenix Suns Living people 1939 births

See also

References